Dems work to draw contrast with Romney on housing

Following up on a blueprint Obama laid out during his State of the Union address in January, the White House on Wednesday detailed a plan that includes helping borrowers refinance at lower interest rates, stabilizing neighborhoods by converting foreclosed properties into rental housing and drafting a “Homeowner Bill of Rights.”

Obama supporters hope the efforts will help them draw a distinction between the president and Mitt Romney. Coming off his second win of the season in Florida on Tuesday, Romney is campaigning this week in Nevada, where he said during a visit in October that foreclosures should be allowed to “hit the bottom” to help the real estate market reset its prices.

{mosads}Democrats on Thursday circulated comments that House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made the day before saying that “the sooner the market clears and we understand where the prices really are will be the most important thing we can do in order to improve home values around the country.”

In Arizona, Democrats held a conference call with two Democratic state lawmakers to contrast Obama’s plan with what they called Romney’s “failed approach to the housing crisis.”

And the Democratic National Committee dispatched Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), who hails from Obama’s home state of Illinois, to blast Romney and argue he had come up with no new ideas to help suffering American homeowners.

“The president understands that while government can’t fix all problems, homeowners should get some relief,” Schakowsky told reporters. “Mitt Romney has four simple words for you: You’re on your own.”

But Romney has said that putting the economy back on a path toward growth is the best way to help homeowners, dismissing Obama’s attempts to apply small fixes to a systemic economic problem.

“The idea of the federal government running around and saying, hey, we’re going to give you some money for trading in your old car, or we’re going to give you a few thousand bucks for buying a new house, or we’re going to keep banks from foreclosing if you can’t make your payments — these kind of actions on the part of government haven’t worked,” Romney said in October during a debate in Nevada.

As Schakowsky was speaking, Romney was in Las Vegas preparing to accept the endorsement of real estate mogul Donald Trump, two days ahead of the Nevada caucuses. Schakowsky said the joint appearance underscored what the two men had in common.

“They both like to fire people, so they have an affinity with each other,” Schakowsky said. “They’re both notoriously wealthy guys who are proud of their separation from ordinary Americans, who are facing the crisis we’re talking about and many more.”

– This post was updated at 5:50 p.m.